SECTION 173.401. Fiscal Monitoring

(a) The Commission or its designees will monitor the activities of grantees as necessary to ensure that Commission grant funds are used for authorized purposes in compliance with laws, regulations, and the provisions of grant agreements.

(b) The monitoring program may consist of formal audits, monitoring reviews, and technical assistance. The Commission or its designees may implement monitoring through on-site review at the grantee location or through a desk review based on grantee reports. In addition, the Commission or its designees may require grantees to submit relevant information to the Commission to support any monitoring review. The Commission may contract with an outside provider to conduct the monitoring.

(c) Grantees must make available to the Commission or its designees all requested records relevant to a monitoring review. The Commission or its designees may make unannounced monitoring visits at any time. Failure to provide adequate documentation upon request may result in disallowed costs or other remedies for noncompliance as detailed under §173.307 of this chapter (relating to Remedies for Noncompliance).

(d) After a monitoring review, the fiscal monitor shall issue a report to the authorized official and financial officer as soon as is practicable, but no later than 90 days following the final submission of requested county financial data, unless a documented exception is provided by the executive director. The report shall contain each finding of noncompliance.

(e) Within 60 days of the date the report is issued, the authorized official or financial officer shall respond in writing to each finding of non-compliance and shall describe the proposed corrective action to be taken by the grantee. The grantee may request the executive director to grant an extension of up to 60 days.

(f) The corrective action plan will include the:

(1) titles of the persons responsible for implementing the corrective action plan;

(2) corrective action to be taken; and

(3) anticipated completion date.

(g) If the grantee believes corrective action is not required for a noted deficiency, the response will include an explanation, specific reasons, and supporting documentation.

(h) The Commission or its designees will approve the corrective action plan and may require modifications prior to approval. The grantee's replies and the approved corrective action plan, if any, will become part of the final report.

(i) The grantee will correct deficiencies identified in the final report within the time frame specified in the corrective action plan.

(j) The fiscal monitor shall conduct an additional on-site visit or remote follow-up review when the fiscal monitor determines that the report includes significant noncompliance findings. The follow-up visit or desk review shall occur within 12 months following receipt of a county's response to the report. The fiscal monitor shall review a grantee's implementation of corrective actions and shall report to the grantee and Commission any remaining issues not corrected. Within 30 days of the date the follow-up report is issued by the fiscal monitor, the authorized director or financial officer shall respond in writing to each finding of noncompliance, and shall describe the proposed corrective action to be taken by the grantee. The grantee may request the director to grant an extension of up to 30 days.

(k) If a grantee fails to respond to a monitoring report or follow-up report within the required time, then a certified letter will be sent to the authorized official, financial officer, county judge, local administrative district court judge, local administrative statutory county court judge, and chair of the juvenile board notifying them that formula grant payments will be automatically withheld if no response to the report is received by the Commission within 10 days of receipt of the letter. The Commission may also authorize withholding of improvement grant funds. If funds are withheld under this section, then the funds will not be reinstated until the Commission or the Grants and Reporting Committee approves the release of the funds.

(l) If a grantee fails to correct any noncompliance findings, the Commission may impose a remedy under §173.307 of this title.

Source Note: The provisions of this §173.401 adopted to be effective March 23, 2023, 48 TexReg1549